A participant of the al-Quds day rally in Toronto on Saturday, June 9 2018. Courtesy Canada-Israel Friendship Association

Last September, Councillor James Pasternak formally inquired how hate-sponsored rallies (anti-Jew, anti-gay, neo-Nazi rallies) could be prevented from occurring on city property.

His inquiry got bounced around until executive committee referred it last November to the city manager to find ways to prevent such public gatherings from continuing on city property.

For years, the annual al-Quds rally — a gathering of those opposed to Israel which was started by the government of Iran in 1979 — took place in front of the legislature until Queen’s Park was pressured into banning them in 2017. Last June, the rally moved — illegally and without a permit–to the grounds north of Wellesley St., which is a city of Toronto park.

That’s when Pasternak got into the act.

Perhaps 50% due to a lack of leadership as city manager Peter Wallace left for greener pastures in February and the rest due to deliberate foot-dragging, the request fell into a big, black hole.

This year’s al-Quds rally took place illegally (without a permit) for the second year this month in a city park. And for a second year in a row, participants, including tiny children, tied up traffic and police resources as they blocked University Ave., brandishing Hezbollah flags, and signs equating Zionism to racism, calls to boycott Israel, claims that 9/11 was a Zionist job and other anti-Israel propaganda.

City officials, who were supposed to deliver their report at Tuesday’s executive committee, came up empty-handed.

And with perfectly straight faces, they told the committee they’ll get back to everyone a year from now after they’ve engaged in the consultations they were supposed to undertake seven months ago.

I can’t for the life of me understand how highly paid bureaucrats — who earn salaries, benefits and merit pay unheard of in the private sector — aren’t ashamed of themselves.

But let’s not forget that they are working for Mayor John Tory, who never met a consultation, a deferral and an excuse to dither he didn’t like — although, in fairness, he did say Tuesday he was a “bit disappointed” that city officials hadn’t made more progress on the “very complex issues” of where “free speech intersects with hate speech.” (How’s that for playing both sides of the fence?)

Make no mistake. If there was the slightest hint of Islamophobia or anti-black racism prevalent in these kinds of rallies, you can bet city staff would have hopped to it months ago.

It gets better.

Asked whether city security staff monitored the event and whether police are creating an occurrence report about the hateful messages/slogans spread at al-Quds, acting city manager Guiliana Carbone said she didn’t know.

Carbone kept talking in circles, claiming they can’t stop people in advance from protesting illegally.

Even the KKK? Or Holocaust deniers?

City officials didn’t say.

“It’s a bit complicated … we have to balance the rights individuals have to assemble under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with our ability to prohibit things we haven’t permitted … there’s a number of divisions involved,” she said.

“Make no mistake this is a hate rally,” an angry and frustrated Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith told the committee.

He said he’s highly disappointed that nothing was done and given the timelines, the rally may go on for a third year with no action from City Hall.

“If this is allowed to continue over time, other communities will be targeted (as well),” Mostyn said. “It never starts and ends with the Jews.”

Toronto Police Service hate crime stats showed yet again that in 2017, Jews are the most targeted group in this city.

Pasternak told me after the meeting, he’s concerned that this will be a repeat of what happened with Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) back in 2011 and 2012 when city officials hid behind the Charter and did nothing to push Pride to ban this hateful group from the parade.

I’m willing to bet that if anything gets done, it won’t be by City Hall.

It will be from premier-designate Doug Ford who has already expressed concern about the al-Quds rally.

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